Shoe-lace fastener



v 1,624,564 P" 1927f 5.3. SHETZLINE. JR.. ET

51102: LACE FASTENER Filed Aug. 25. 1926 IN z zwi ons (BJWWM Patented Apr. 12, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

SAMUEL R. SHETZLINE, JIEL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AND EMIL A. DODELIN, OF MOORESTOWN, NEVJ JERSEY.

SHOE-LACE FASTENER.

Application filed August 25, 19526.

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in a shoe lace fastener, the same being a division in part from our appli cation bearing Serial Number 115,466, dated June 12, 1926, and has for its primary object to construct a device of this character from a section of flat material, such as metal and so fashion it that it may be readily and quickly applied to or removed from an article of footwear, such as a low shoe, with out the use of securing means such as rivets, prongs and the like.

Another object of the invention is to so shape the fastener as to provide means for frictionally gripping the upper of the footwear and thereby hold the fastener against accidental displacement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shoe lace fastener removably mounted over the upper edge of a shoe upper and adapted to receive the straight and looped ends of a bow knot, and hold such ends in a neat manner, thereby giving a tidy appearance to the footwear.

With these and other ends in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those, skilled in the art to.

which this invention appertains, may understand how to make and use the same, we will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in which:

F 1, is a fragmentary perspective view of a shoe illustrating the manner in which our invention is applied.

Fig. 2, is an enlarged edge view of the fastener showing the manner in which it is attached to a shoe upper.

Fig. 3, is an enlarged face view of the fastener.

In carrying out our invention as herein embodied, 6 representsan article of footwear, such as a shoe, which is closed by laces 6, the upper ends of which are usually tied in a bow-knot, indicated at 7 and providing loop ends 8 and straight or tipped ends 9. 1

Usually the ends of the bow-knot are allowed to hang loosely giving an untidy appearance to the foot-wear, but by providing a shoe lace fastener 10 to hold the free ends of the bow-knot, the shoe will have a Serial No. 131,398.

neater appearance, and the lace is less likely to come untied.

The shoe lace fastener herein illustrated is adapted to he removably mounted over the upper edge of the shoe upper, and is formed from a single piece or section of suitable material, such as flat metal, so bent or fashioned to provide a body 11 with a curved portion 12 at its upper end and an other curved portion 13 at its lower end, the latter curved portion having a section 14: extending beyond the inner face of the body for a purpose to be hereinafter described, while from said curved portion projects the upwardly extending outer leg 15 terminating in an outwardly projecting curved tongue 16, lying in close proximity and preferably in contact with the outer face of the body. From the upper curved portion 12 projects a downwardly extending inner leg 17 having anarcuate portion 18 formed therein adjacent the section 14 of the curved portion 13, with which it coacts and said inner leg terminates in alip 19.

As will be obvious, from Fig. 2, the shoe lace fasteners are removably mounted over the upper edge of the shoe upper and when in place the bulged section 14:. of the curved portion 13 will kink the leather of the shoe so as to cause it to be frictionally gripped between said section 14 and the curved portion 18 of the inner leg, which will prevent accidental displacement of the fastener.

It is to be understood that the material. from which the fasteners are made must he sufiiciently resilient to return the legs to their normal positions after being separated by placement upon the shoe or after the laces have been placed in the outer legs.

By placing one of the shoe lace fasteners at each side of the front of the shoe, or in any other convenient place, relative to the shoe laces, the ends of the latter may be readily inserted between the outer legs and the bodies thereof, where said shoe laces will be held against accidental displacement due to the resiliency of the fasteners. In placingthe fasteners in position. the inner legs engage the inner face of the shoe upper,

while the body engages the outer face thereshown as these may be varied within the limits of the appended claims without departin from the spirit of our invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and useful is:

1. A shoelace fastener con'iprising a body, on upwardly projecting outer leg extending from the lower end of the body, a bulge at the point of connection between the body and outer leg, said bulge extending beyond the inner face of the body, an inner leg pro: jet-ting downwardly from the upper end of the body and terminated with en e'rcuzite portion for couetion with the bulge, 2t 11p at the end of the inner lee below the arc-mite portion, and an outnnrdly curved tongue at the terminal of the outer leg.

2. The combination with :1 shoe, ot a shoe luce fastener constructed from :1 section of resilient metal bent to provide :1 body, having a bulge extending beyond the inner face of said body, an inner lQfj depending from. the upper end of the body and provided with an arcuate portion for coaction with the bulge whereby the two produce it kink in the shoe upper, and an outer leg projecting upwardly from the lower end of the body and terminating in an outwardly projecting tongue normally in contact with the outer face of the body.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto 

